Any prazosin success stories?

[TravisK]

I've been taking Prazosin for several months now and aside from a couple of dizzy spells when I went up to 3 mg it's worked really well for my nightmares. Currently I take just 1 mg and have the odd bad dream but I was just so fascinated that there is actually a drug that temporarily "cures" nightmares!

I have seen others say it has helped their other symptoms as well. Has anyone else had a fairly positive experience with this medication? I feel like more people should know about it.

 

[Fadeaway]

I have, but I can't take it consistently due to a medical issue that causes my blood pressure to be extremely low to begin with.

 

[Renew]

I am glad it worked for you. It did help me to not dream at all actually but, I felt too numb on it, if that makes sense?

 

[Raven Song]

I have way fewer nightmares. I also notice less anxiety and over thinking during the day. I like the lower blood pressure side effects as well.

 

[TravisK]

@Renew I know what you mean there. I usually don't remember my dreams at all anymore which is a bit depressing. But if I stop taking the drug altogether I only have nightmares so my options there are slim.
@Raven Song A lot of people say they have reduced anxiety thanks to prazosin but I haven't had that kind of relief from it. Glad you do.

 

[hodge]

It worked great for me, too, for several years. I also have normally low blood pressure, but I got used to not jumping out of bed when I woke up. Eventually, it stopped working so well, so my psych switched me to clonidine, which is another blood pressure med that does the same thing. So far, so good.

 

[LuckiLee]

My guy uses it once in awhile. He doesn't remember his nightmares and even has "normal" dreams with it.

 

[hodge]

It's a miracle how it works. With both Prazosin and Clonidine, as soon as I wake up I might have a couple of fleeting images of nightmares, but they go away in a moment. It is so nice to not be haunted by nightmares every day for days on end, The only downside with Clonidine is that if I don't take it early enough in the night and fall asleep early enough, it makes me really tired the next day, so I kind of switch back and forth between taking it and not taking it, depending on when I'm somewhat confident of getting to sleep and what I need to do the next day.

 

[unbrokenn]

Hi!

I take Prazosin 2mg and honestly it's worked wonders. I can actually sleep at night without worrying about having nightmare after nightmare. I pair my Prazosin with 100 mg of Trazodone and now I sleep slightly more like a normal person.

 

[cntrymom08466]

@hodge you can take it even with low blood pressure? I've started Effexor and am having trouble sleeping. I was before hand too, so I was wondering what to take and not have a hang over affect. Any ideas? I used to take trazodone, but that's been a long time ago.

 

[ShodokanJenn]

I take Prazosin, 15 mg. I tend to need larger doses of medications. It doesn't take away my nightmares completely, but it does make it so I have fewer and for the most part, I'm not nearly as disturbed when I wake up. I have low blood pressure without it, but being on it hasn't affected that at all. My new P-doc has a very different take on medications than any of my previous ones. He was the director of a well known inpatient trauma treatment center (not Shepherd-Pratt), and he really knows his way around the world of PTSD. He was really glad to see I was already on Prazosin, as sleep is my biggest issue (I take a LOT of sleep medication, or I don't sleep AT ALL).

As with all meds, what works for one may do nothing for another. And it's imperative to discuss questions and concerns with your prescribing doc. But I think it's definitely worth considering, as it's so helpful for so many.

 

[hodge]

@cntrymom08466, yes, my blood pressure averages about 100 over 70. Of course, my psych knows that because every time I go in they check it. The big caution is: when you wake up, be sure to slowly slide your legs over the edge of the bed and dangle them, and also kind of move your arms around, too, to get the blood flowing. Then just be careful standing up and walking. I've never fallen.

I will say, however, that on some nights I choose not to take it, especially if I don't get to sleep till early in the morning and I have something I want to accomplish the next day as I find it makes me really tired and sluggish if I take it after 2 or 3 a.m. But if I can afford to be sluggish the next day, I will take it as late as 4 or 5 a.m.

But it really does help with nightmares. The way it works on me is, as I first start waking up, I have a few visuals of my last nightmare, but if I don't dwell on them, the images easily disappear. I mean, after a second or so, I would have to really try to remember the nightmare, and why on earth would I do that, especially since they're all recurring ones I've been working on in therapy for ages and otherwise I'd be haunted all that day and possibly more days.

I was really nervous about taking it, too, because of my low blood pressure but I found it helps a lot with hardly any adverse affects. Maybe you could try it on a night where you don't have to do much the next day and see how it affects you? If it helps, it could be, well, okay, maybe not total a gamechanger, but certainly a positive change in your outlook.